Halloween display brings attention to Fall River home

By LAURA C. MONTEIRO

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southcoasttoday.com

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Posted Nov. 8, 2012 at 10:10 AM

Posted Nov. 8, 2012 at 10:10 AM

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By LAURA C. MONTEIRO

Fall River Spirit Correspondent

On an average day, the large Victorian home located at 526 Highland Ave. has a majestic look. By Halloween night, the once exquisite residence turns into a horrific house of horrors — and that's just how owner Al Natale likes it.

Natale, 55, celebrated his eighth year in "business" Oct. 31.

"After the count was done, we got rid of about 2,200 pieces of candy," said a proud Natale, who carefully budgets his money to support his Halloween obsession.

Dressed as a dead patriot, Natale directed traffic outside of his home while other family members — including partner Rick Desrosiers dressed in vampire garb — entertained trick-or-treaters and handed out candy.

"We're pretty blessed," said Natale of the adults and children that visit each year. "We started out the first year with only about 400 visitors and it just kept getting bigger."

Even the Fall River Police Department stopped by to congratulate Natale on his ability to keep the peace.

Standing ominously in the front yard was Michael Myers from the movie "Halloween."

"That was my nephew," said Natale.

Natale's other nephews, nieces and grandchildren posed as corpses in the man-made cemetery.

Other attractions included a Linda Blair figure from the movie "The Exorcist" in the window, a scary old woman in a rocking chair on the roof and a swinging zombie girl hanging in the cemetery. Lights, smoke machines, animatronics and creepy music set the mood.

"This season our extra room has evolved into the new Halloween storage closet," said Natale, who also stores his creatures and equipment in his basement.

The special feature this year was Young Michael Myers, dressed in a child's clown costume.

"It was great and looked just like it did in the movie," Natale said.

One staple that Natale always includes in his monstrous display is a fence that lines the walkway to the front door of his home. "We use it for crowd control and so people stay off the flower beds," he said.

Natale works from home as an insurance wholesaler, but always asks his boss for the week off to prepare for his Halloween event.

"It's beyond love," he said. "Ever since I was a kid, I just got the biggest kick out of Halloween."

In his younger days, Natale played pranks on schoolteachers.

"I used to switch all the name tags so they'd get confused," he laughed.

To kick off their favorite time of year, Natale and Desrosiers host a private costume party for friends and family the Saturday evening prior to Halloween. Not forgetting the interior, guests are greeted by a hideous butler and surrounded by skull candelabras and corpses strewn about.

Hurricane Sandy almost put a damper on Natale's big day.

"I didn't bother with the full decorations until afterwards," he said.

The elaborate home is decorated almost solely by Natale, with some input from Desrosiers.

"I do the planning, the design and a lot of the execution myself," Natale said.

When Halloween ends, a cleanup crew of family and friends assists Natale in taking down decorations and putting them safely away in storage.

Next Halloween, Natale said he hopes to improve the technological aspects of his design.

"I think I have to find a little more sophisticated equipment," he said. "I need machines that are going to work consistently and effectively next year."